New Venue Big Band was formed in December of 2001 and had its first rehearsal in January of 2002. The vision of the group is to provide a professional performance level of music for those in the southeast Iowa area wanting to dance to the many forms of swing and ballroom dances. The group strives to be the "dancer's band". Musicians in the group represent all walks of life and many, many years of professional music performance. Most importantly, the band has fun playing the standard big band sounds from the past!

	Bob Brady  Alto Sax/Clarinet
	Bob is a retired music coordinator and teacher, with forty years of experience in schools in Illinois and Iowa. He holds a BS in Music Education from Northern Illinois University, and a Masters from the University of Northern Colorado. In addition to playing with New Venue, he is the conductor of the Iowa City Community Band and the band manager for West Music in Coralville.
	Jane Williams  Saxophone/Clarinet
	Ms. Williams has played the saxophone for 19 years. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Montana State University-Billings, and a Master of Arts in Saxophone Performance from the University of Iowa. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Saxophone Performance at the University of Iowa. Jane is a saxophone professor at both Wartburg College in Waverly Iowa, and Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa and runs a private saxophone studio in Iowa City, Iowa. She has been a member of the New Venue Big Band for four years.
	Mike Klevay  Tenor Saxophone/Clarinet
	Mike was born and raised in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where his love for big band music began playing with Dick King's Classic Swing Band. Since leaving ND, he has enjoyed playing his horn living throughout the Midwest in Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, and now in Iowa City. When not working at the University of Iowa, Mike has been heard sitting in with Lazy Boy and the Recliners.
	Garret Locke  Tenor Saxophone
	Garret was born in Longview, Washington. In high school there, he played in the wind ensemble, jazz band and a number of area and state honor bands. Before moving to Iowa, he attended the University of Washington, where he played in the UW band for 3 years, when not studying zoology. Today, in addition to lighting up the saxophone for New Venue, he plays with a small church ensemble. For his day job, he is the technical director at the Iowa Lions Eye Bank.
	Dave Kunz  Baritone Saxophone
	Dave's originally from Emmetsburg, Iowa and currently lives in Washington with his wife, LeAnn, and several bicycles. He received a bachelors degree in music education from the University of South Dakota. Before joining New Venue, Dave's gigged with the Mike Day Big Band, Mearl Lake Orchestra, Jack Schultz Orchestra, Al Godfredson Orchestra, Northwest Iowa Concert Band and Jazz Band, and still plays in the Washington Municipal Band and Muscatine Big Band. In his "spare" time, Dave is the band director at Mid-Prairie High School in Wellman, IA, where he's taught for the past eight years.
	Don Hughes  Trumpet
	Don is a former Iowa City resident and now a Washington transplant. He can also be heard with the South East Iowa Symphony, The Cedar Rapids Municipal Band, The Iowa City Community Band, and The Washington and Iowa City Community Theaters. During the day, he is a band director in the Washington school system. Don would like to thank his wife, Lisa, for letting him come out to play.
	Brett Petersen  Trumpet
	Brett has lived in the Iowa City area since 1993. Besides the New Venue Big Band, Brett plays with the Eastern Iowa Brass Band, the Cedar Rapids Jazz Big Band and the Iowa City Community Band. He has also had his arm twisted on a few occasions to play in the pit orchestra of various Iowa City Community theater productions. He sleeps during the day!
	Beth Villhauer  Trumpet
	Beth is a native of Iowa City. She has performed for many years with the Eastern Iowa Brass Band and the Iowa City Community Band. She has a BA in Music from Central College in Pella, Iowa. She spends her days working as the administrative assistant and bid coordinator in the Elementary Music Catalog Division of West Music Company in Coralville.
	Scott Vogelgesang  Trumpet
	A native of the Twin Cities, Scott moved to Iowa City in 1995 from Washington DC after a stint in the US Army. He studied trumpet and played in the jazz band, concert band, subbed in the orchestra, a jazz quintet and played polka gigs on the weekends at the University of Minnesota in Duluth. Scott works at the University of Iowa and loves to play his trumpet, flugelhorn, and piccolo trumpet in whatever musical venues will have him.
	Greg Young  Trombone
	A lifelong resident of the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area, Greg graduated from the University of Iowa, where he studied with Max Lyon and David Johansen. He also played lead trombone in the Johnson County Landmark jazz band, Hawkeye Marching Band and Iowa Pep Band, sousaphone in the HMB, 2nd trumpet in the Take Five Brass Quintet, and various other brass instruments in whatever musical ensembles he could find that would tolerate him. He has played with Clark Terry, Steve Turre, and the Guy Lombardo orchestra. Greg is a software engineer for Rockwell Collins. He has an evil twin named Dilbert.
	Paul McNally  Trombone
	Paul is a native of Grinnell, Iowa. A semi-retired band director, Paul has played trombone or euphonium with a number of bands, including the Iowa City Community Orchestra, the Dubuque Symphony, and the Eastern Iowa Brass Band. Paul is married to Valerie, who is an elementary band director in the Iowa City Schools.
	Troy Vincent  Trombone
	Troy is a native of West Branch. While in high school there, he was active in concert band, jazz band, chorus and swing choir. He also attended Iowa State University and played in the Cyclones marching band and pep band. When he's not singing in his church choir, or playing with New Venue Big Band, he works in Tipton and West Branch, Iowa, as a Commercial Loan Officer for US Bank.
	Roger Hileman  Trombone/Bass Trombone
	Since coming to Iowa City with his wife Lu in 1978, Roger has been active in the area's music scene. A one-time band and choral director, Roger has been involved with numerous musical theater productions on stage, in technical roles, and as orchestra director. Roger is a test editor for ACT, and also enjoys being being a grandpa, taking mountain hikes, and writing fiction. Roger acts as webmaster for the New Venue Big Band.
	Ron Renoux  Guitar
	In junior high, Ron purchased his first guitar, and he's been playing ever since. He was a member of several bands throughout his high school and college years. During his twenties, Ron studied jazz guitar and music theory at North Texas State and the University of Iowa. Shortly after, he met his future wife, Sherry, and had to postpone his music career to earn some "real" money. Ron will talk guitar with anyone who will listen - stop in to Renoux Flooring in Washington and see, if you don't believe us.
	Arlen Ottmar  Bandleader, Piano
	Arlen was born in North Dakota, but got to Iowa as soon as he could!! After graduating with a music degree from Wartburg College in 1972, he was an instrumental music director in Atlantic, Iowa from 1972-75, then at Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, SD from 1975-77 and most recently at West Branch high school from 1988-95. Arlen has done many things but presently is a piano tuner/technician and enjoys time with his family.
	Jon Cryer  String Bass
	Jon has been involved with music since he was born but began playing bass in the seventh grade -- a long time ago! He has played bass mostly in smaller combos but jumped at the chance to play in a big band. (His only regret is that too much big band music is in the key of D flat!) He also sings in two choruses and plays euphonium in four different groups. The only period of his life where music took a back seat was graduate school where pursuit of the Ph.D. consumed most of his waking hours. He taught for thirty-five years in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science at the University of Iowa before becoming Professor Emeritus in 2001.
	Rick Chambers  Drums
	Rick Chambers is a drummer, vocalist, and arranger with a music education degree in clarinet and saxophone from Buena Vista College in Storm Lake. He was inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 with The Beach-niks and in 2005 with The Senders. Rick and his wife Robin own Chambers Electric, Inc. and Rick is the 2007-2008 president of the Iowa Chapter of International Association of Electrical Inspectors. He also teaches classes on electrical theory, electrical apprenticeship, and the electrical and fire alarm codes throughout the state..
Want to know more about your favorite NVBB musician? Send your questions to info@newvenuebigband.com.